Adventure Learning Centre and Camp Hurricane Relief

ALC&C staff are tired and overwhelmed, but we are all safe and praising God things are better than they could have been. We are thanking God for sparing us the excessive storm surge and rain that was originally forecasted and that he sent the storm at low tide rather than high tide as originally forecasted.

Impactful Video of Hurricane Matthew’s Destruction

Even with the lower amount of rain/surge, we still have a lot of standing water at both sites, buildings at both the Centre and Camp have sustained some roof damage and other minor to moderate damage, many fences have been broken, cabinets in the Centre kitchen and Nature Centre were damaged by water, uprooted trees damaged underground utilities, the new boardwalk in the wetlands is gone, and there are many downed trees. We are also without power and cable/internet because of downed cable/power lines in the area. It may be days or weeks before we get power restored.

Although the amount of work ahead of us may be daunting, we are praising God for no loss of life and that we are already receiving a few calls from people asking how they can help with the relief effort.

Pray!

We are helpless without God. We need Him for strength, stamina, wisdom, discernment, daily provision, and so much more. Everything else comes to us as a result of prayer.

Please pray that we are able to start ministering to the Bahamian people soon. In order to do this we must first get our own houses, lives, and facilities in order.

Please pray that God supplies funds (for our staff as well as for the ministry) for repairs and supplies and laborers to come and help us clean and make necessary repairs.

Please pray for the clean-up, repair of not only the ALC&C but also for the people of the Bahamas.

Please pray for the strains and concerns that many may have that may lead some to commit crimes. We all know desperation can cause people to do bad things.

Please pray the power comes back on soon. We are in the coastal area, and as such, all houses in our area need to be inspected one by one to make sure that there are no water issues that will affect the power lines before the power company turns on the current.

Please pray for the people of the Bahamas that their hearts are softened at this time and turn to God.

Donate Funds

Of course the easiest material ways to help is financial contributions, both for the ministry and for the missionary staff.

Ministry Needs

The ministry will not be bringing in funds while the facility is not operating.

Repairs and replacement of damaged or destroyed items will be costly. The board walk alone is over $30,000 (it was just replaced in 2014).

The main issues for the missionary staff are loss of food from spoilage due to power outage and increased cost of food due to shortage issues and supply interruptions. Many staff are barely making it on the donations they receive, and this added expense as well as other added expenses will strain already tight budgets.

This is something that is going to be needed immediately as well as over the next several months. We already had a long list of tasks and deadlines of things that needed to get done, and with this hurricane, our maintenance staff will be stretched further. As you contemplate and pray for laborers to come (maybe it is you), here are a few things to keep in mind.

Our staff is stretched and will need people to come along side us and help pull the load, not burden it further. We are looking for skilled (NOT only construction trade skills), hard-working, mature individuals.

In the interim, the work will be hot, dirty and in not so desirable conditions. We may or may not have electricity available.

Food: Volunteer laborers will need to come prepared to take care of their own food needs (especially over the next month) as store supplies and refrigeration here may be limited. Volunteers can use the Camp kitchen to prepare their food, but remember if we don’t have electricity, stove and refrigeration is limited. Think camping in the wild when planning food (ie MRE’s, Freeze dried food, etc).

Lodging: Volunteers working at ALC&C can stay at Camp (just remember power may or may not be available and staff will do their best to make you comfortable).

Thank you so much for being willing to volunteer your time to assist us in clean-up of ALC&C! I am going to email Mark Wallace at the Centre to let him know of your desire. Please contact him directly to set up your time of community service. God bless!

Thank you for your prayers and support of the ALC&C. Please contact Mark Wallace if you or someone you know would like to participate in any relief effort. Feel free to share this blog. It is our family blog and not necessarily the ALC&C blog, but we do report on the ALC&C at least monthly. God bless!